James Te Huna relishes role in Saturday's UFC doubleheader, New Zealand debut

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – As the first New Zealander to sign with the UFC, James Te Huna dreamed of one day competing for the world’s biggest martial arts promotion in his native land.

He just never expected it to happen so soon.

“I didn’t think it was going to happen this early,” Te Huna tells USA TODAY Sport. “I knew it was going to come, but I had it in my head that it was going to be next year or the following year, so it surprised me. But to be headlining this card now is the biggest dream. It’s so rewarding for me.”

Te Huna (16-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) meets experienced vet Nate Marquardt (32-13-2, 10-6) in the middleweight headliner of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 43 event, which stream live on the UFC Fight Pass digital network (2:30 a.m. ET) from Vector Arena. The card is part of a UFC doubleheader that includes “UFC Fight Night 44: Swanson vs. Stephens” in San Antonio later in the day (Fox Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET).

The event represents the UFC’s first trip to New Zealand, a nation of just 4.5 million. Te Huna believes the fan will ensure the company makes a quick return.

“Kiwis are passionate sports fans and are really big on combat sports,” Te Huna says. “Since I’ve been here for the past four weeks training for this camp, the amount of support that I’ve had on the streets, people coming up and asking for pictures and autographs, it’s been huge.”

The 32-year-old Te Huna was born in the tiny town of Darfield, a community of just 1,600 or so residents on the outskirts of Christchurch. The South Island town’s lone claim to worldwide exposure came courtesy of a 2010 tragedy, when Darfield served as the epicenter of a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. Five months later, a second earthquake in the region claimed the lives of 185. Te Huna fought Alexander Gustafsson the same week of the second earthquake and was so moved by the images he saw on the news that he donated his entire fight purse to the recovery effort.

“It was about three or four days before the match, and I was watching the news and saw about the earthquake in Christchurch and the devastation that came out of it,” Te Huna says. “It was hard to watch, really tough. I was born just outside of Christchurch, and I have cousins and aunts and uncles there.

“My immediate reaction was to help out any way I could. Once I had the fight, I made a donation and tried to make the whole fight community aware of the devastation in Christchurch. I felt it was the right thing to do. I got a great response from the UFC, and they matched the donation. Hopefully it created more awareness about the devastation and got more people to support the recovery.”

Te Huna is now one of five New Zealanders on the UFC roster, but with eight appearances for the promotion, he’s still the Kiwi with the most octagon outings. In Marquardt, he fights a man with more than 15 years of professional fighting experience, and Te Huna believes the pair’s aggressive styles will make for an entertaining matchup.

“From the footage I’ve seen and what I’ve learned about Nate, he’s most dangerous at knowing when to strike and when to finish off an opponent,” Te Huna says. “As soon as he gets someone in trouble, he jumps straight on them, and that’s the same kind of style I have too. When I can see someone fold, I jump straight on them and put them away. We’ve kind of got similar styles, I guess, so this fight is going to be great to watch.”

Te Huna should be the naturally larger fighter. A former 205-pound light heavyweight, he’s making his debut at 185 pounds. Meanwhile, Marquardt is actually moving up to the middleweight division after a brief but unsuccessful run at 170 pounds. Of course, being granted the honor of headlining the first UFC event in his home nation also comes with a great deal of responsibility, and Te Huna will certainly face some nerves come fight time. However, he believes he’ll be able to channel that energy for good.

“There’s no pressure on me fighting at home,” Te Huna says. “I’m here in my home country, and I’m in my comfort zone. The pressure that people talk about me representing my people and representing my country, I haven’t felt it. I’m feeling good, and I’m using all of their support as motivation and to help me build momentum.”

Te Huna won’t earn a shot at a UFC title with a win. In truth, his fight isn’t even the most important UFC matchup of the day, with the Texas show boasting a title eliminator with Cub Swanson vs. Jeremy Stephens. But for Te Huna, it’s a chance to be a part of UFC history – and it’s a chance to create memories that will last a lifetime.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to be representing my home country and representing my people,” Te Huna says. “It’s definitely fulfilling for me and probably the biggest reward I could achieve. It’s just an awesome feeling.”

ALBANY, N.Y. – MMAjunkie is on scene and reporting live from today’s UFC Fight Night 102 event at Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y., which kicks off at 5:45 p.m. ET (2:45 p.m. PT). You can discuss the event here.

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